Sunday meanderings . . . here and there, and up and down . . .

Source: citypictures.net via Pablo on Pinterest

I love an old street in an old fashioned town . . .
A street that goes wandering uphill and down.
A street that wakes echoes wherever you tread,
And quaint timbered gables lean over your head.
Where sunlight and shadow make patches of gold . . .
On bricks, tiles and cobblestones, centuries old.
I love an old street, where you see at a glance . . .
Glimpses of history, beauty, romance.
~Patience Strong

That Patience Strong . . . she's a woman after my own heart.  I love reading her little poems and thoughts.  They always touch me in a special way.  These words here today just scream out England to me . . .

Source: junkaholique.com via Lesley on Pinterest

This beautiful country is filled with these images . . . especially when you get outside of the city, although I have to say that Chester is very much like this as well . . .with it's white tudor buildings and cobble streets, and those beautiful rows . . . cobbles are not much fun to walk on though, I do have to say . . . kind of like walking on acorns in the autumn . . .

Source: sitasays.tumblr.com via Kate on Pinterest

You never know what you are going to come across either . . . you find the oddest things in the oddest places . . . like a Dr Who telephone booth, right in the middle of nowhere . . . One might almost be afraid to step into it for fear of being carried off into another world . . .



You will find post boxes in unsual places as well . . . built into walls . . . and other nooks and crannies, a testament to the reliability of the British Postal service . . . or as it used to be at any rate.  I'm not so sure it is as reliable these days . . .  earlier this week, the day I went to the Temple, Todd went into the city to have a wander.  The postman tried to deliver a packet while we were both out.  When I got home that ubiquitous "we're sorry we missed you" red slip was laying on the entryway floor.  So I got online and applied for a redelivery . . . yesterday.  Stayed home all yesterday waiting for it. I was upstairs painting . . . Todd was downstairs reading.  I can down to show him what I had done . . . and there it was again . . . another red slip of paper sitting on the entryway floor, "We're sorry we missed you" . . . He can't have knocked very loud or run the doorbell.  It must have been obvious we were home.  The car was there and Todd was playing music, not very loudly either.  He surely would have heard the door . . . I just don't think they make much effort these days.  Have arranged redelivery for Tuesday now . . . at my local post office.  I'll pick it up there, myself.  Probably, whilst I am out picking that one up, they'll try to deliver another one . . . and so it goes . . . lol

Source: pinterest.com via Jon on Pinterest

Winding lanes . . . covered with trees and hedges right up to the pavements . . . roads that twist and turn and leave you almost breathless with their beauty . . . cattle rods built into the roads so that farmers don't have to worry about their livestock wandering too far . . . sheep largely wander freely in much of the countryside over here . . . it's really quite wonderful to see . . .



Is it no wonder I have fallen deeply in love with this country I find myself in?  I think not . . . it is a place that entrances and mesmerizes . . . that weaves a spell around your heart.  Were I to ever leave . . . I would  miss it dreadfully . . .

Source: bluepueblo.tumblr.com via Tisha on Pinterest

How can one not be totally and blissfully taken in by all of this rich beauty that surrounds us . . . and the history . . . this country fairly reeks of it.  You can not miss it.  There is history woven into every cobblestone . . . every corner . . . every single seam of it's being.  It is so amazing . . . truly.  Todd and I are both history buffs . . . one of the many things that we have in common that showed me he was the perfect choice for me . . .

Source: antalik.com via Kris on Pinterest

Kissing gates, thatched rooves, cobblestones . . . wandering wildlife . . . meandering roads and streams . . . village greens, and corner shops . . . these are all a part of rural life over here, woven into the fabric of an every day existance.  It's all so very beautiful . . .

Source: newenglandprepster.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Even in the rain . . . and there is plenty of that . . .  but that is what helps to keep it so lush and verdantly green . . . with moss that covers every stone and tree trunk . . . ivy that twists itself over wall and fence post . . . fields of buttercups and forget me knots . . . Whenever I have been away for a time and I look once more upon it's fields and rivers from the window of the airplane as I return and we come in for a landing, I am reminded once more of how very beautiful it is . . . and I can scarce catch my breath at the wonder of it all . . .

Source: mandatory-happiness.tumblr.com via Hannah on Pinterest

and I fall in love all over again.  Truly . . . madly . . . deeply.  I wonder at some of the people here, who have lived amongst all of this beauty their whole lives . . . who take it quite for granted, who cannot see for the blinders on their eyes.  Why would anyone ever want to leave . . .  it quite boggles my mind . . .

Source: bowmp3.com via Meagan on Pinterest

I pinch myself each day . . . to make sure I am not dreaming.  Am I really, REALLY here???  Is this now my home???  Yes . . . comes the answer immediately.  This is my home and where my heart lays, wound up irretrievably in it's spell . . . it's magic . . . it's beauty and soul.

Source: Uploaded by user via Norman on Pinterest

This is my home sweet home . . .

I got started yesterday on my Christmas Card Designs for the year.  I know it may seem early to some, but you can never been too early with these . . .



A family out in their mini car, picking up their Christmas Tree.  The snow begins to fly . . . as the sky darkens . . . but "ho, ho, ho"  Christmas is on it's way, and they're enjoying every minute of the festive season.



And a quieter one . . . with a spiritual feel to it, which captures the essence of what Christmas should be all about.  This is an actual cottage house which exists down in Norfolk.  I have a book of pictures of cottages around the UK and examples of architecture which you find over here and I thought it would be perfect on this card.

It kept me out of trouble at any rate . . . and I have more bouncign around in my head that I can't wait to get started on!

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Mixed Berry  and Creamy Custard Tarts. 

“Our Father in Heaven has given us, His children, much more than any mortal mind can comprehend. Under His direction the Great Jehovah created this wondrous world we live in. God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hours with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions.” 
~President Dieter F Uchtdorf

 

Poetry Saturday . . . Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Source: childillustration.blogspot.com via Molly on Pinterest

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night

sailed off in a wooden shoe . . .

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

Into a sea of dew.

 "Where are you going, and what do you wish?"

The old moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring fish

That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we!"

Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Source: bookoasis.tumblr.com via Connie on Pinterest

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in the beautiful sea . . .
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish . . .
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Source: flickr.com via Lygea on Pinterest

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam . . .
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea . . .
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Source: flickr.com via Celeste on Pinterest

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is the wee one's trundle bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
~Eugene Field

Source: google.co.nz via Mary on Pinterest

Eugene Field, Sr, (1850 - 1895)was an American write, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. Field was born in St. Louis, Missouri where today his boyhood home is open to the public as The Eugene Field House and St. Louis Toy Museum. After the death of his mother in 1856, he was raised by a cousin, Mary Field French, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Source: famouspoetsandpoems.com via Dawn on Pinterest

Field first started publishing poetry in 1879, when his poem "Christmas Treasures" appeared in A Little Book of Western Verse. Over a dozen volumes of poetry followed and he became well known for his light-hearted poems for children, perhaps the most famous of which is "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod." Field also published a number of short stories, including "The Holy Cross" and "Daniel and the Devil." The Dinky Bird by Maxfield Parrish, an illustration from Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field.

 Field died in Chicago of a heart attack at the age of 45. He is buried at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Kenilworth, Illinois. His 1901 biography by S. Thompson states that he was originally buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, but his son-in-law, Senior Warden of the Church of the Holy Comforter, had him reinterred on March 7, 1926.

Several of his poems were set to music with commercial success. Many of his works were accompanied by paintings from Maxfield Parrish. His former home in St. Louis is now a museum. A memorial to him, a statue of the "Dream Lady" from his poem "Rock-a-by-Lady", was erected in 1922 at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. There is also a park and fieldhouse named in his honor in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood. In nearby Oak Park, Illinois, another park is named in his honor. A statue of Wynken, Blynken and Nod adorns Washington Park, near Field's Denver home.

This was a poem I often read to my children when they were young, and one that was often read to myself . . . I really enjoyed learning more about it's author this morning.  How tragic that he died so suddenly and so young, but oh what he accomplished in the short time he was on this earth.  Truly amazing.  We should all be that talented!

And still the rain comes!  I do believe it has rained more in this last week than it had during the whole past winter!!  We will soon be developing webbed feet!  Our back garden is a squelching bog!  Mitzie doesn't like it when it's like this, as we won't let her back there to play.  It's just far too wet.



Here's a little something I did yesterday afternoon.  I spent the morning organizing my craft room, which left me free to do a little bit of art in the afternoon.  I hate cleaning my craft room.  I should just keep it tidy all the time, but when I get into a frenzie of creativity, I am like a little tornado . . .  a whirling dirvish!  This one I did with pencil crayons.  I quite like how it turned out.  I think it will make a nice card.

Oh, and here is something else I got up to yesterday . . .



Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Spiced Blueberry Scones.  Quite Delish!!

“Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!” 
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Have a wonderful Saturday!  Dry or wet, cold or warm, wherever you are and whatever you are doing today, may it fill your hearts with joy!!


 

Sunday this and that, oot and aboot!

 

What a gorgeous day we had again yesterday. Todd measured the temperature in the shade and he said it was 22 as far as he could tell. The temperature measurerer thingie didn't go past that number, so it may even have been warmer! I only know for sure it felt like S-U-M-M-E-R!!  Looks like the sun is out again today as well!

We took ourselves off into the city for a couple of hours.  We thought it would be a great day to do that, what with the nice weather and all . . . plus the races were on, so we knew it would be entertaining as well, and we were not wrong in the least.



I love Chester so very much.  When we lived down South for those 7 years, I often longed to come back here.  I really missed it.  I often said to Todd that if we could take our whole church Ward from Tunbridge Wells back to Chester to live, that would have been nirvana.  However we couldn't and when it came time for us to move back, it was a bit of a wrench to leave them all behind . . . we still miss them . . .but we so love being back up here!!

It was literally bustling yesterday!  I love a city that is alive with colour in all shapes and forms, don't you?

Everywhere we looked there was red, white and blue . . . all in preparation for the upcoming Jubilee, don't you know . . . this is a big week for Chester.  The Olympic Torch is coming through on the 29th, and then of course there are the Jublilee Celebrations at the weekend, it's all go-go-GO!

 

The shop windows were all decorated with red, white and blue.  I  liked the Marks & Spencers one the best.  They always do their shop windows up so nicely for every occasion and I think they have really done the Queen and the country proud this time!  It is really difficult to get good pictures of shop windows . . . there are always reflections in them, but I thought this turned out pretty good nonetheless.



WE have a really posh hotel in Chester called the Chester Grosvenor.  It also has it's very own shopping precinct . . . for the well-to-do, of course . . . there is usually a really posh doorman standing outside waiting to escorte guests in.  I didn't see him yesterday though . . . he must have been on his tea-break!  I've always told Todd that when we win the lottery, we'll stay there until our posh house is ready for us.  Of course you must buy a ticket to win . . . but the dreams are free are they not?

In any case . . .



Their shop windows were decorated for the Jubilee as well . . . but of course in a much more elegant manner, as you can see.  The other window had an older queen in it and more un-affordable jewelry.



These two lads are often seen in the city singing their hearts out of a Saturday.   They're quite good really.  I think they must do really well.  I think Chester has exemplary buskers.  I really do.



There was bunting and flags everywhere.  That is the Jubilee Clock you can see up on the East Gate of the wall.  It was put there for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, I think.  It's quite beautiful actually and a wonderful focal point of the city.   I think every visitor to Chester has their picture taken under it!  I know I did all those 12 years ago when I came over for my first visit!



I just love the architecture of Chester City . . . with all of it's black and white Tudor buildings . . . tastefully mixed with classic modern bits.  It is a very old city, and that is the feeling you get when you wander it's streets.  Some are still cobbled as well, which, while not all that easy to walk upon . . . do add a bit of charm, to an already completely charming space!

 

Chester is arguably the richest city in Britain for archaeological and architectural treasures preserved to this day from the time of the Roman occupation. Originally the fortress site of the 20th legion (Valeria Victrix) it was charged with suppressed the uprising of the army led by the warrior queen, Boadicea, the town being known then (c. AD70) as Deva, and soon became a major trading port. Its massive harbour and border position made it one of the finest strategic outposts of the Roman Empire. Long after the Romans had gone, during the Dark Ages, Viking raiders arrived in their long boats along the same route. After the Romans withdrew circa AD400, the prosperous city fell prey to marauding Danes and Saxons and was virtually derelict by 900.

 

The Normans reached Chester circa 1070 and a revival began, Chester Castle was built, housing Hugh the Wolf, First Earl of Chester, nephew of William the Conqueror. By the Middle Ages, Chester had become an affluent and prosperous port. It was during this time that the famous Rows were built. so that by the 13th century, it had again become a centre of shipping trade, a port serving Scotland, Ireland, France and Spain. In the 14th century began the Mystery Plays and pageants for which the city became famous. Henry VIII granted a charter in 1541 and made Chester a bishopric. By the 15th century, the Dee began to silt up and gradually, the seaborne trade died. Impoverished by this natural action the 1640s brought devastation during the English Civil War, with the city under siege for two years until starvation forced surrender.

 

But throughout this chequered history, the Roman walls remained virtually intact. The walls extend in a 2 mile circuit and give a vivid reminder of what a medieval fortified town was like. In the Middle Ages, several towers and gates to the walls were made: the most important of these was at Eastgate, now astride a main throughfare and crowned with an anachronistic clock commemorating Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee (1897). By the 1700s, the River Dee had changed course and the port had silted up. The walls were no longer needed for defence and were restyled into the pleasant walkways that we enjoy today. The Industrial Revolution brought canals, railways and roads. It was during this time that many important buildings were restored.




The most distinctive medieval feature of the city is The Rows. These are double-level walkways with a continuous line of balconies and with shops at street and first-floor levels. The Rows are unique and were certainly in existence in the 14th century.  Just another part of Chester's unique charm!




It was very busy in the city yesterday.  everyone was out and about enjoying the sunshine and the races, etc.  I took a short video of this fabulous Busker down near the city hall.  It's only about a minute long, so turn off the music below and have a peek if you want to.  He had sooooo much energy!  He was helping to raise money for the Help for Heroes.  (A charity which helps out Soldiers and their families.)  He wasn't quite Michael Buble, but he sure was entertaining!



All in all we had a fabulous time in the city . . . enjoyed some sun, had a nice lunch, watched some very entertaining Buskers and just plain had a nice couple of hours together.

It's very special to be able to share the things you love with the one you love!



After we came home, Todd did a bit of work in the garden and I did a few more illustrations for my next cookbooklet.  I did this little mini car out and about in the country with a family inside on their way to a picnic.  The quote says:  among the delights of summer were picnics  to the woods

Todd says it's his favourite of all that I've ever done.  I do rather like it myself.  He is always saying I paint too many little girls.  I guess he was glad to see that I had done something completely different I guess!  I might offer this one as a card as well.  We shall see.



I also did this one, which I think may be on the back page of the cookbooklet.  I'm not sure yet.  In any case although it looks very simple, this was far more challenging than the car one!  It's not that easy to keep everything where it's supposed to be and I had a hard time making the crown show up well.  I suppose had I gone to Art College, it would all be a doddle for me!  However I didn't.  Most of the time I'm just  flying by the seat of my pants! Learning and discovering new techniques . . .  things that work, things that don't work . . . what I can and cannot do, etc.  as I go along!

All in all it was a fabulous day yesterday from start to finish . . . We ended the day watching the Eurovison Song Contest until it was time to go to bed.  I don't know who won, or anything . . . but what I did see, was . . . umm . . . errr . . . interesting to say the least!  And yes . . . entertaining!

Here's how we began the day . . . 



Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Breakfast Batter Puddings.  Scrummy with fruit!

“Since the beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things."And the greatest of all good things is God.” 
~President Dieter F Uchtdorf

For each of you I wish a very sunny, blessed and soul enriching Sabbath day!  May you be fed with much more than Sunday Lunch.

 

The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY, May 1st, 2012...

Outside My Window...
It is quite. quite overcast . . . and looks like rain . . . again.  Roll on summer!

I am thinking...
It is hard to believe that here we are already the first of May.  The year is slipping by very quickly.  I remember a first of May quite a number of years ago now.  Todd and I were holidaying in the Black Forest.  All the shops were closed in the little village we were staying in.  We had opted not to go on the excursion trip for that day with our coach tour.  We spent the day walking around the little village and having a beautiful hot chocolate at a little cafe we found which was open.  It must have had about six inches of whipped cream piled on top of it and was delicious!  Afterwards we walked along the high street, looking in shop windows and then we discovered a little Baroque church which was open and so we went inside.  It was so beautiful.  The outside of the church was actually pink!  Inside it was decorated with beautiful gilt and painted murals.  Such lovely memories of a May day long ago . . .


I am thankful for...
 All the simple and small things that make my life so very full.  I am very grateful for a heart that seeks and embraces these types of things.  My life is richer for it.

From the kitchen...
Well . . . um . . . there's not a lot.  I'm really slipping aren't I!!  Wait . . . I did buy some Swedish Ginger Thins at Ikea on Saturday, so they are there, but that is kind of cheating isn't it, no matter how gooooood they are!  ☺


I am wearing...
Black and white jim jams and my slippers. 

I am creating...
 


I did this yesterday afternoon.   She was dancing in my head all morning just waiting to get out.  (I was so distracted by her that I forgot to telephone my daughter, which was very naughty of me.  I'll have to give her a quick call today and apologize!)  I didn't know this little girl was in my head until I sat down at my craft table and began to sketch her.  She just came out.  I knew something was in there, just not who it was.  What do you think???  Will she do???

I also have a card order I am working on and a comission waiting in the wings.  Superdy Duperdy!  I love it!

I am going...
Well, I don't really have many plans for the rest of this week.  Just my Presidency Meeting tomorrow night for RS and then we have Stake Conference for the church this weekend.  Our RS has been charge with the duty of providing supper for about 12 people in between the Priesthood and Family sessions on Saturday.  I am doing the mains.  I think I'll do two big trays of lasagne as it's simple and easy to transport.  We have our missionary correlation meeting on Thursday evening as well.

I am reading...



Heaven Is Here, by Stephanie Nielson
From last week:  I think you would pretty much have had to be living under a rock over these past four years not to have heard of the story of Stephanie Nielson, who blogs over on The NieNie Dialogues.  She was in a really bad accident  in 2008 when the light plane her husband and his flight instructor were flying crashed.  She was burned in over 80% of her body and her life changed completely.  She has been an inspiration to so very many people in the world since then, with her honest and poignant writings.  I am a fan and I could hardly wait to read her book.





It arrived in the post yesterday and I have not been able to put it down since I cracked it open.  It's beautifully written and I am really enjoying it.  I highly recommend it to anyone.  I think it is a runaway Best Seller!  

Post Script:  Still reading this.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through.  I really am enjoying it.  I thought Stephanie inspired me before I read this book, but I am even more inspired by her example now.  She is truly amazing.


 I am hoping...
I am hoping that we get a summer this year.  We haven't had much of a summer here in the North West for a couple of years now.  A few warm weeks in early spring and that's been it.  The rest of the year's been pants . . . wet, rainy, cold.  I want SUMMER this year and not just a few good days sprinkled in between horrible weather!  I am putting my order in now!!

I am hearing...
Nothing new really. Mitzie is snoring away on the sofa. The keys are tapping. The birds are singing. The odd car drives by. The clock is ticking. It's very quiet actually . . . a typical early morning.

Around the house...

Source: urban-soil.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

I found this picture the other day and fell in love with it.  I would absolutely adore having one of these in my garden.  It would be so easy to make, if you could find the stone for it.  I can imagine sitting there on a hot, hot day . . . the stone feeling cool beneath me.  I'd feel somewhat like a Fairy Queen I think, watching over my domain!!!  Hear ye!  Hear ye!!  The Court's in Session!  Now where are those tumbling elves???


One of my favourite things . . .
I have a very vivid imagination and I love playing with it.  Oh, there is no end to the amount of adventures I've had in my head.  I've argued with the best of them . . . spoken to Kings . . . travelled the world . . . met famous people and not so famous people.  It has ever been that way with me.  I wish I could get all of my thoughts and imaginations out there in a tangible way to share with those around me.  I can only ever manage to get scraps out there . . . not nearly enough!

Something new about me ...
I was once on my  hometown's swim team.  I'm not sure exactly how I got on it, because I don't think I was a particularly good swimmer.  I could swim, but I was definitely not swim team material.  I remember on one meet I was given the Butterfly Stroke race to do.  I was absolutely hopeless at it.  I remember feeling horribly embarassed afterwards.  I had not even finished the first length of the pool when everyone else was done, having swam both lengths.  It was not a nice feeling.  I am not normally a quitter, but I quit the team after that.  I think I realized how bad I really was!  It was all quite, quite humiliating!

One of my guilty pleasures ...
I adore salt and pepper pistachio nuts.  I could eat bags and bags of them.  Mitzie loves them too.

Pet Peeves...
I think litter bugs are really annoying.  The amount of garbage and litter we pick out of our garden every day is amazing.  Empty crisp packets and candy bar wrappers.  There was even some dirty baby wipes there one day.  Cigarette buts, McDonald's wrappers, you name  it.  Somehow there is a fresh pile every morning scattered in our garden.  They blow in through the gate.  I feel like Victor Meldrew when I say this, but . . . "I don't believe it!"  I was always taught that you did not throw your rubbish and litter on the ground for someone else to pick up.  Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone did???  What a mess it would be.  I can't understand the mentality of people who just throw their refuse on the ground.  To me it shows a total lack of respect for their environment and their community.  I think it's disgusting.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Source: durhamtownship.com via Marie on Pinterest

“Life is nothing but a series of moments.  Start living the moments and the years will take care of themselves." ~Cesare Pavese (1908 - 1950)

I think the single most best advice I could leave with anyone is to romance the present.  Live your present.  Don't ever wish your today's away.  Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow might never come.  Today is what we have and we must make the very best of it that we can.

As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:
 
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
~Jeffrey R Holland

We really should not dwell on these things.  Better to remain positive and to just keep doggedly putting one foot in front of the other.  No journey was ever accomplished by standing still.

And there you have it . . . my day book for this week. Don't forget to hop on over to the Simple Woman to check out the other day book entries! (Or better yet, do a simple day book entry yourself! It's not that hard and I am betting you would enjoy it!





Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . a delicious "Supper Dish." 

Sunday thoughts . . .

 

My sister and I were talking on the computer yesterday. Oh, how very grateful I am for modern technology which allows me the luxury of being able to communicate with my family in this way.  You just can't beat instant gratification can you?

 

Anyways, we started talking about the age we are now and how quickly our lives seem to have passed thus far . . . old age has amazingly crept up on us without us even noticing, and here we are in our mid fifties.  Where have the years gone?  I still feel the same inside as I did 20, 30 or even 40 years ago.  It's that first glance in the mirror in the morning that is a shocker . . . when I see that old woman looking back at me!  Where did she come from???  Anyways, she is here now and I don't think she is going to be leaving.  LOL

 

I can understand now why they say "Youth is wasted on the young."  As a teenager, I had no thought for tomorrow.  The only thing that really mattered was today.  I thought 30 was an ancient age, and ever so far away and quite removed from who I was . . . way off in the distant future.

Then as a young mum, I was so busy with all those little hands to watch, and all that laundry to take care of, and that house to keep clean.  At one point, I actually had three children in diapers, and I could not afford to use disposables, so they were cloth diapers.  However did I manage???  I just did, but it boggles my mind now.  Then there was the time they all had chicken pox at the same time.  My youngest at that time was only about 9 months old, so that was a real treat.  NOT!

 

I had no time then to think of getting older . . . the years just passed and my children grew, became teens, and then adults and then out the door they went . . .  one at a time, and my nest was empty.  And here I am sitting on a cool Spring morning, wondering where the years have disappeared to.

I wish I had known enough to keep a journal when my children were small . . . although in truth,  I probably wouldn't have had enough time or quiet to write in it.  Our church admonishes us to all keep journals, and so I do now . . . but I wasn't a member way back then so I didn't.  I wish there had been such a thing as scrap-booking back then as well, making memory books.  These young mums today have a wonderful advantage with all that they have available to them to enable them to document their children's growing up years . . . so nothing gets forgotten in the ether of an aging mind.

 

Oh, I remember lots of things, special occasions and events . . . Boxing Day Family Sleigh Rides, Easter Egg Hunts, Birthday parties, etc. . . . but it is the small things that escape me.  I have to sit and really think hard to remember those smaller details, and even then most of them escape me.  Nobody told me that it would be this way, so all you younger mum's pay heed.  Put it down on paper now, because one day you will be an old woman and you won't be able to remember the special little things.  Perhaps I would remember better had I some photographs to look at.

 

Speaking of photographs, I do have a few, but there are not a lot really with me in them.  I was usually the one taking the photograph!  Another lesson for you young mums.  Make sure someone takes your photograph with your babies too!  You may not appreciate it at the time, but in later years you sure will.

 

I got my new business cards in the post yesterday.  I'm very pleased with how they turned out actually!  Now I have something to tuck in with my orders when I send them out, and to pass along in real time.

 

I also had some postcards printed so that I could see how they turned out as well, and I quite like them too.  I think when I get a few more recipe posters done, I'll have them all done in cards as well.


 I was also able to finish this piece of mine yesterday.  I had started her a few days before, but wasn't able to get at her until yesterday.  This is a favourite thought of mine.  I am a great believer in prayer and in the power of prayer.  I think she looks very contemplative and that cat looks quite wishful.  That is prayer in a nutshell . . . contemplation and hope.

"If life gets too hard to stand . . . kneel."
~Gordon B Hinckley



 Here is a little picture that I took of our Mitzie yesterday.  She was admiring a cake I had just baked which was sitting on a cooling rack on the table.  Soft as butter, she is . . . soft as butter and she did so want a piece of cake.  We have to always be very careful to put food far out of her reach, because she is not as well behaved as our Jess was.  Jess would never touch anything unless we gave her permission.  Mitzie . . . well, she's a little piggie.  Todd made the mistake of setting his sandwich down one day and he left the room for a second.  When he came back in she was holding it for him.  In her mouth of course!  Oh we do love her so very much, despite her mischevious ways!



Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . a delicious Cinnamon Drizzle Loaf!
Happy Sunday!!